Most homes in North America have fences which delineate the property line. Such fences include fence posts which are either driven into the ground or which include drilled holes which are filled with concrete or the like which are adapted to receive such wooden fence posts.
Recently wedged anchors which are made of steel or the like have been used for insertion into the ground so as to serve as anchors for the wooden posts which are secured thereto. In particular, a wedged anchor sold under the trade mark of "MET" post has been appearing on the market place which consist of approximately a three foot long metal anchor having a rectangular socket on one end thereof adapted to receive a wooden post and a wedged spike at the other end which is adapted to be driven into the ground. Once the "MET" post is driven into the ground the wooden post is secured into the rectangular socket.
The "MET" post have normally been inserted into the ground by inserting a short wooden piece of fence and pointing the wedged anchor into the ground and hammering the short wooden piece. Such procedure has normally proved unsatisfactory as it is difficult to maintain the relative vertical position of the "MET" post so as to present a fence having accurately aligned fence posts.
Although the inventor herein is not aware of any apparatus which has heretofore been used to drive such "MET" post into the ground various apparatus and procedures have heretofore been used to drive wooden or metal fence posts into the ground. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,533 teaches apparatus for setting bases at selected locations on a baseball or softball field comprises a base anchor socket designed to be complimentary engagable with stud members associated with the undersides of bases.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 2,098,146 discloses a post driver for driving metallic posts into the ground.
Yet another arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,472 which discloses a Peg device and method of fixing posts into the ground.
Yet another arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 299,344 which describes apparatus for driving piles or planks into the ground.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 299,086 describes a post driver for driving posts into the ground.
These and other prior art devices are relatively complicated devices which are difficult to utilize in association with wedged anchor or "MET" posts.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved post driver to be used in association with wedged anchors and to particularly provide a post driver which is easy to use and which is used to accurately vertically align the wedged anchors into the ground.
The broadest aspect of this invention relates to a post driver for driving an wedged anchor into the ground, wherein said wedged anchor is adapted to receive a post at the top end thereof, comprising: an elongated inner shaft having a rectangular cross section said inner shaft having one end of which is adapted to be received by said wedged anchor; a plate coextensive with said rectangular cross section and fixedly secured at said one end of said elongated inner shaft; a hollow elongated outer shaft having spaced first and second open ends said first open end of said hollow elongated outer shaft adapted to receive another end of said inner shaft for relative slidable movement therebetween; mass presented at said second open end extending interiorially into said outer shaft, said mass adapted to strike said other end of said inner shaft when said outer shaft is slidingly moved to an impact position and to be spaced from said other end of said inner shaft when said outer shaft is slidingly moved relative said inner shaft to an open position; said hollow outer shaft including first aperture and said mass including second aperture in the region interiorially of said outer shaft for alignment with said first aperture; a handle having two spaced ends secured to said outer shaft, one of said ends of said handle projecting through said first aperture of said outer shaft and into said second aperture of said mass interiorially of said outer shaft so as to retain said mass and said outer shaft together, said handle for moving said outer shaft relative said inner shaft between said open and impact positions.
It is another aspect of this invention to provide a post driver for driving a wedged anchor into the ground, said wedged anchor including a square opening at the top thereof for receiving a wooden post comprising: a hollow inner shaft having a square cross section along the axial length thereof; a plate coextensive with said square cross section of said inner shaft and fixedly secured at said one end of said hollow inner shaft; an enlarged square engaging portion presented at one end of said inner shaft for reception by said opening at the top of said wedged anchor so as to substantially eliminate rotational movement of said wedged anchor about said axis of said first shaft; an anvil presented at another end of said inner shaft; a hollow outer shaft having a square cross section along the axial length thereof, said outer shaft including an open end adapted to slidingly receive said inner shaft interiorially of said outer shaft for relative slidable movement therebetween so as to substantially eliminate rotational movement of said outer shaft with said inner shaft along the axial length of inner and outer shafts; mass presented at another end of said outer shaft and extending interiorially into said outer shaft at said another end, said mass adapted to strike said anvil of said inner shaft when said outer shaft is slidingly moved to an impact position, and to be spaced from said anvil when said outer shaft is slidingly moved relative said inner shaft to an open position; said hollow outer shaft including first aperture and said mass including second aperture in the region interiorially of said outer shaft for alignment with said first aperture; a handle having two spaced ends secured to said outer shaft, one of said ends of said handle projecting through said first aperture of said outer shaft and into said second aperture of said mass interiorially of said outer shaft so as to retain said mass and said outer shaft together, said handle for moving said outer shaft relative said inner shaft between said open and impact positions; gusset connecting said outer shaft and said handle.
Finally it is an aspect of this invention to provide a method of installing a wooden post to a wedged anchor having an opening at the top thereof adapted to receive said post, including the steps of: positioning said wedged anchor into the ground so as to present the opening of said wedged anchor at the top thereof; vertically aligning an inner shaft relative said wedged anchor whereby one end of said inner shaft is inserted into said opening of said wedged anchor; positioning a hollow outer shaft having an opening at one end and a closed end over said inner shaft for relative slidable movement therebetween; grasping handles presented along said outer shaft so as to [slightingly] slidingly move said outer shaft relative said inner shaft between an open position where said closed end of said outer shaft is spaced from another end of said inner shaft, and an impact position where said closed end of said outer shaft strike said other end of inner shaft so as to drive said inner shaft and said wedged anchor into the ground; vertically aligning said wedged anchor when driving said wedged anchor into the ground by wrenching the handles while slidingly moving said outer shaft to said impact positions; removing said inner and outer shafts from said wedged anchor; inserting a wooden post into said open end of said wedged anchor; vertically aligning said wooden post; securing said wooden post to said anchor; constructing a fence from said secured wooden posts.